UDC Women’s Volleyball Takes Down Bowie State 3-0

Bowie, MD – The UDC Women's Volleyball Team bounced back after a tough weekend in impressive fashion, beating the Bowie State Bulldogs in three sets.  The Firebirds now sit at 3-4 on the season as they prepare for their first East Coast Conference (ECC) matchup on Friday at Dowling College.

UDC closed out the Bulldogs 25-17 in the first set.  The second set was not heavily contested as the Firebirds dominated 25-9.  The third set resulted in a 25-14 victory for the firebirds, and a 3-0 overall victory for UDC.

The Firebirds were boosted by the play of several Firebirds on the day.  Senior outside hitter/ middle hitter Mirella Nunes (Sao' Paulo, Brazil - Colegio Augusto) registered 6 serve aces, 5 kills, and 3 digs on the day.  Nunes has been battling injury this season thus far, and the Firebirds benefited from her production, especially in the service game.  Junior libero Grace Perilli (Lewisburg, WV – Independence HS) again led the defensive effort with 15 digs on the day.  Freshman Kamene Rose (Chula Vista, CA – Hilltop HS) continued her productive freshman campaign with 17 assists, 3 serve aces, and 9 digs.  Junior outside hitter/ middle back Vanessa Garley (Rio Rancho, NM – Rio Rancho HS) and senior setter/ right side Grace DeMichelis (Aurora, CO – Overland HS) both had balanced efforts on the day.  Garley registered 9 kills, 2 serve aces, and 9 digs, while Demichelis posted 10 kills and 9 assists.

Head Coach Sheila Weaver had this to say about the performance at Bowie State, "I was pleased with Grace Perilli's play on defense, and I thought Mirella Nunes served the ball very well for us.  It was good to see us rebound after a tough weekend last weekend.  We came together nicely tonight.  We just need to use this as a springboard to keep getting better.  We have our first ECC match Friday and two matches on Saturday, so hopefully we can string a few wins together this weekend."

The Firebirds look to get back above .500 this weekend as they participate in a 3 match trip in New York.  UDC takes on Dowling College on Friday at 6:00 pm, and then they travel to NYIT to take on Franklin Pierce at 2:00 pm and NYIT at 4:00 pm.